Masamune (video game weapon)

Categories: Computer and video game weapons | Fictional swords | Final Fantasy weapons | Chrono Trigger

This article is about the video game weapon. For the swordsmith, see Masamune.

The Masamune is the name of a sword that has been featured in many video games, most notably the Final Fantasy series. It has appeared in various incarnations, sometimes just a sword that a character can use during battles and other times it plays a major role in the story.

In the majority of the Final Fantasy series, the Masamune is a sword that is picked up and can be equipped by one of your characters. Depending on the game, the Masamune is either the best weapon or one of the best. It has little impact on the story. One exception is in Final Fantasy VII where the Masamune is not available to you under normal circumstances. It is actually wielded by the main enemy, Sephiroth. In this incarnation, it is an extremely long sword and it is said that only Sephiroth has the strength to wield it. A prop version of the Masamune can be won (yet not used) in the Speed Square of the Gold Saucer. Another exception to this is in Tales of Symphonia, where the Masamune is one of the earliest (and in turn one of the weakest) swords at Lloyd's disposal in the entire game.

The Masamune plays a much larger role in the Chrono series (Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross). It first appears in Chrono Trigger as the legendary holy sword forged by Melchior. Unlike other Squaresoft games, the Masamune is more of a broadsword than a katana. Two spirits known as Masa and Mune (who inhabit the sword) guard it. After Crono, Marle, and Lucca successfully pass Masa and Mune's test, they are given the sword. It is then discovered that the sword is broken and needs to be reforged. After acquiring Dreamstone from the distant past, they bring the sword and stone to Melchior to have it reforged. The process is successful and the sword is presented to Glenn (Frog) to allow him to defeat the dark wizard Magus. After the events of Chrono Trigger, the Masamune is lost during the fall of the Kingdom of Guardia. The name of the sword in the Japanese version is "Grandleon." (1)

The sword reappears in Chrono Cross as "the Blood-Stained Sword of Evil." Something has happened that has changed the Masamune from a holy sword to an evil one. It most likely occurred as a consequence of the fall of Guardia (the sword is shown covered in blood during the specially added FMV sequence at the end of the PlayStation version of Chrono Trigger). Now the sword draws out the darkest desires and emotions of the wielder until the feelings overwhelm him and he acts upon them. For example: if the wielder feels extreme jealousy, he will kill the object of this feeling. This happens to Radius in Chrono Cross when he kills his best friend Garai (who is the greatest swordsman). Eventually, Serge and his friends succeed in purging the evil from the sword (in a side-quest). Masa and Mune then "wake up" and do not realize what has happened to them and the sword. They then are reunited with their sister Doreen who joins with them to form the Mastermune, which is arguably Serge's ultimate weapon.

The Masamune has also appeared in the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Golden Sun, Shining Soul 2, and the Soul Calibur series. In Onimusha Blade Warriors, there are two Masamunes, the Soshu Masamune and the Hocho Masamune.